Method and device for separating articles arranged in close succession on a conveyor

ABSTRACT

A method and device for separating closely successive articles which are fed by an input conveyor toward a packaging machine. Each article reaching the end of the input conveyor is transferred to a movable bottom member lying initially flush with the conveyor. A first vertically movable holding post holds the last article on the end of the conveyor while a second holding post engages the preceding article on the bottom member and when the latter is tilted with the second holding post and the article therebetween the two mentioned articles, which may stick together, are separated along an axis forming the line of contact between said articles. The preceding article is then transferred from the bottom member to a lower disposed stationary slide track extending at a right angle to the input conveyor. The second holding post releases the article which then is moved by a tappet along the slide track to a packaging machine.

[ 1 Feb. 1, 1972 2,816,647 12/1957 Ruth 2,404,460 7/1946 Rolker...3,217,858 11/1965 Fellner...........,.......................

Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Singer, Stern & Carlberg[54] METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SEPARATKNG ARTICLES ARRANGED IN CLOSESUCCESSION ON A CONVEYOR [72] Inventor: Rene Fluck, Neuhausen amRheiniall,

Switzerland Schweraerische ABSTRACT [73] Assignee:lndustrie-Gesellschalt, I

Neuhausen am Rh i f u Switzerland A method and device for separatingclosely successive articles which are fed by an input conveyor toward apackaging y 1970 machine. Each article reaching the end of the inputconveyor [22] Filed:

is transferred to a movable bottom member lying initially flush with theconveyor. A first vertically movable holding post holds the last articleon the end of the conveyor while a second [2]] Appl. No.: 34,075

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data holding post engages thepreceding article on the bottom M member and when the latter is tiltedwith the second holding ay 1969 swnzefland 7029/69 post and the articletherebetween the two mentioned articles,

198/20 which may stick together, are separated along an axis formingB65'g 47/00 the line of contact between said articles. The precedingarticle 20 34 24 is then transferred from the bottom member to a lower[51] Int. [58] Field of Search disposed stationary slide track extendingat a right angle to the input conveyor. The second holding post releasesthe article which then is moved by a tappet along the slide track to apackaging machine.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,356,451Evans......................................198/27 8Claims,5DrawingFigures PATENTED rag H972 SHEET 1 OF mcmcnm mm 3638.???

SHEU a M METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES ARRANGED IN CLOSESUCCESSION ON A CONVEYOR The invention relates to a method forseparating of consecutive articles carried by an input conveyor beltwhich, for instance, moves the articles on its way to a packagingmachine. It is known to separate the articles when each of the samearrives at the ends of the input conveyor belt by a transverse orvertical slidable movement from the following articles. For certainarticles-for instance, such articles which may stick together-thismentioned known method is not suitable. For overcoming thisdisadvantage, the method of the present invention is characterized inthis, that in each individual article at the end of the conveyor belt ismoved upon a movable bottom arranged in the extension conveyor belt andthen holds this article against this bottom, whereupon a tilting of thebottom about the line of engagement with the following article takesplace. The following article is likewise held in position and the tiltedarticle rotates about said line of engagement which forms an idealseparation axis and thereby is separated from the following article andthen is moved from the movable bottom to another conveyor where it isfinally released.

The invention also relates to a device for practicing this method. Thedevice is equipped with two holding posts of which the first one ismounted in a stationary guide and is used for engaging holding anarticle which has reached the end of the input conveyor belt. The secondholding post is so arranged that it always moves at a right angle to amovable bottom which in turn is mounted on a pivoted lever whose pivotaxis by means of an additional pivotal arm is movable about a stationarypivot axis, whereby the second holding post is used for holding anarticle placed on the mentioned bottom and moves the same on its way toan output conveyor track.

The drawing illustrates by way of example one embodiment of theinvention.

In the drawings:

The FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 illustrate a few parts of the separating devicein four different operating cycles and,

FIG. 5 illustrates diagrammatically and in a perspective view a portionof the separating device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated separating device comprises anendless conveyor belt 1 which is employed for feeding pressure-sensitivearticles 2 which stick together and have an irregular surface, forinstance, pieces of chocolate with projecting nut kernels. The articles2 which on the input conveyor belt I are arranged in close successionand may even still stick to each other are to be transferredindividually onto a stationary slide track 3 which extends at a rightangle to the conveyor belt I and is disposed a small distance below theupper stretch 4 of the endless conveyor belt 1, whereby the articles 2are carried by this upper stretch 4. The articles 2 are moved along thetrack 3 by horizontal tappets 5 which are secured on a not-illustratedendless chain. In order to transfer the articles 2 onto the track 3there are provided two vertical holding posts 6 and 7, a movable bottommember 8 and a movable abutment member 9. The holding posts 6 and 7 areprovided at their lower ends with soft-elastic cushions l and 11,respectively, consisting for instance of foam rubber. In the positionillustrated in FIG. 1 the holding posts 6 and 7 are in an operativeposition and press upon the upper face of the articles 2.

The holding post 6 has to perform solely an upward and downward movementin order to hold the articles 2' under it in engagement with theconveyor belt 1. This article 2' lies at the discharge end of the upperstretch 4 of the endless conveyor belt 1. In order to perform thisfunction, the holding post 6 requires solely to be guided and operatedin a stationary vertical guide on the machine. In FIG. 5, all of thejust mentioned parts have been omitted in order to clearly illustratethe other holding post 7. In FIG. the holding post 6 with its guide andits drive elements is arranged in front of the holding post 7. FIG. 5solely illustrates the longitudinal edges 12 of the upper stretch 4 ofthe conveyor belt 1 in dash and dotted lines, and furthermore, FIG. 5also illustrates a few articles 2 which are still very far away from theholding post 7.

The bottom member 8 is formed by the ends of three parallel fingers 13which extend with spaces therebetween at a right angle from an arm 15.This arm 15 is fixed at a right angle to one end of a lever 16 pivotallymounted at its other end with a hub 17 to a pivot pin 18 whose pivotaxis is arranged parallel to the arm 15. The lever 16 has pivotallyattached thereto between its ends at 19 an operating rod 20. The pivotpin 18 is secured to one end of a pivot lever 21 whose other end ispivotally supported by a shouldered pin 18 which is fixedly attached tothe frame 23 of the machine. The lever 21 is adapted to be rocked by anoperating rod 210 attached to a point between the ends of the lever 21.

The hub 17 of the lever 16 is integrally formed with a forked bearing 24which receives a pivot pin 25 extending crosswise of the pivot pin 18and supports a lever 26 between its ends. The end 27 of the lever 26 isconnected by a universal joint 28 with an operating rod 29. At the otherend 30 of the lever 26 is pivotally mounted a mount 32 for the upper endof the holding post 7. The mount 32 is also connected between its endsat 33 with a connecting rod 34 which extends substantially horizontallyand is connected at 35 with a projection 36 which is fixed to the lever16. The pivot axes 25, 31, 33 and 35 form the cornets of a parallelogramwhich is disposed in a plane which is vertical to the bottom member 8,so that when the rod 29 is actuated, the holding post 7 is moved up anddown always vertically with respect to the three-part bottom member 8,namely during each operation of the rod 20 which determines the pivotalposition of the lever 16.

The movable abutment member 9 is formed by the ends of two spacedparallel fingers 37 which are fixedly attached to the horizontal arm 39of an angular lever which is pivotally supported on a shoulder pin 40fixedly attached to the frame 23 of the machine. For pivotally movingthe arm 29 is em ployed an operating rod 41 which is pivotally attachedto the angular portion of the arm 39 between its ends at 42. The twopartmovable member 9 comprises a receiving bar 43 at a right angle theretoand an abutment bar 44 which, of course. is also provided in two parts.

The horizontal stationary slide track 3 is provided in one of its edgeswith a rectangular recess 45 through which the bottom member 8 may bemoved up and down. In FIG. 5, the bottom member 8 is illustrated to bein the same level as the track 3, so that an article (not shown) whichmay be on this bottom member 8 will be engaged by a tappet 5 and movedalong the track 3 as is indicated by the article 2". Two relatively lowsidewalls 46-indicated in dash and dotted linesextend along the track 3and prevent a lateral displacement of the articles and even a droppingof the articles from the track 3.

In FIG. 5 the bottom member 8 is illustrated in an intermediate positionbetween the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the abutment member 9 issubstantially in the position shown in FIG. 2. The positions of theparts 8 and 9 in FIG. 5 do not occur simultaneously but are onlyillustrated for the sake of a better understanding of the operation ofthe device. The operating rods 20, 210, 29 and 41 may be operated bymeans of cams and other movement transmitting members which are drivenby a drive shaft in such a manner that the articles 2as will now beexplained with reference to the FIGS. 1 and 4will be separated from eachother and will be further transported, for instance, to a packagingmachine.

At the beginning of an operating cycle the bottom member 8 and theabutment member 9 are in the position illustrated in FIG. 1. That is,the levers 21 and 16 by means of their operating rods 210 and 20 arepivoted to such a position that the bottom member 8 will be located justbehind the discharge end of the upper stretch 4 of the conveyor belt 1and the lever 39 has been pivoted by the rod 41 into such a positionthat its fingers 37 are disposed below the spaces 14 between the fingers13 of the lever 16, so that the two parts of the receiving bar 43 of theabutment member 9 will lie between the three parts of the bottom member8, while the abutment bar 44 is disposed directly in rear of the same.Owing to the movement of the conveyor belt 1 one article 2" has beenslidably moved onto the bottom member 8 up to the abutment bar 44. Nowthe holding posts 6 and 7 with their cushions l and 11 are moveddownwardly upon the articles 2' and 2" as also shown in FIG. 1, wherebythe holding post 7 is actuated by the rod 29.

During the time the article 2' is held by the holding post 6 on theconveyor belt 1, which during this time is stationary, the other article2" which is held between the bottom member 8 and the holding post 7 istilted downwardly by a pivotal movement of the levers 21 and 16 as shownin FIG. 2, whereby the ideal corresponding axis 47 is located at the endof the upper stretch 4 of the conveyor belt 1 and extends transverselyto the stretch 4 and for all practical purposes is located where thearticles 2' and 2" touch each other. At the same time the abutmentmember 9 is lowered with reference to the bottom member 8. The axis ofrotation of the pivot pin 22 is in axial alignment with the idealtilting axis 47.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the holding post 7 and the bottom member 8transport the article 2" held between the same to a position above thetrack 3, while at the same time the abutment member 9 returns to itsoperating position and the holding post 6 releases the article 2' whichnow owing to the action of the conveyor belt 1 is slidably moved ontothe horizontal bar 43, whereupon the holding post 7 and the bottommember 8 are actuated, the article 2" is released and is lowered ontothe track 3. A tappet will now engage the article 2" and moves it alongthe track 3. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4, the article 2' hasbeen moved against the bar 44.

Now the bottom member 8 and the holding posts 6 and 7 return into theposition illustrated in FIG. 1 and during the next operating cycle thearticle 2' is brought upon the track 3.

The described separating device separates very protectively anddependably because the two articles 2' and 2" between which in each casea separation is accomplished are held softly during the separation andthere exists no possibility that the articles may slip outwardly or maybe damaged, even if they should stick together. Also articles 2 having asmall height may be separated without the possibility that they roll oneover the other. Obviously, the tappets need not be arranged in ahorizontal plane, they may also be arranged vertically and may beprojecting through a longitudinal slot in the track 3 which for thispurpose in the range of the bottom member 8 is suitably shaped so thatthe articles 2 may be received and at the same time permit the passageof the tappets.

What I claim is:

1. Method of separating an end article from a row of articles adheringto each other, comprising the steps of moving said row of adheringarticles on an input conveyor in the longitudinal direction of said rowuntil the leading article rests upon a base member at the discharge endof said input conveyor, clamping said leading article to said basemember, clamping the neighboringarticle in the row to said inputconveyor, tilting said base member about a transverse horizontal axisdisposed approximately in a transverse vertical plane through theadhering surfaces of said leading and neighboring articles therebyseparating said leading article from said neighboring article, releasingsaid leading article from said base member, and transferring saidleading article onto an adjacent receiving and moving means.

2. Device for separating an end article from a row of articles adheringto each other, comprising an input conveyor supporting said row ofarticles and movable in the longitudinal direction of said row, a basemember adjacent to the discharge end of said input conveyor, firstclamping means for holding said leading article on said base member,second clamping means for holding the neighboring article of the row onsaid input conveyor, means for tilting said base member and firstclamping means about a transverse horizontal axis disposed approximatelyin a transverse vertical plane through the adhering surfaces of saidleading and neighboring articles to thereby separate said leadingarticle from said neighboring article, and an article receiving andmoving means adjacent to said base member and adapted to remove saidleading article from said base member upon release of said firstclamping means, said tilting means including a lever mounted to pivotabout a stationary axis substantia y aligned with said transversehorizontal axis, and means pivotally connecting said lever to said basemember and first clamping means.

3. Device according to claim 2, in which said base member comprises aplurality of spaced parallel fingers, a pivotally mounted lever beingprovided with members loosely fitting and insertable between saidfingers, and abutment means on said members in a position to extendabove said base member when said members are disposed between saidfingers, whereby said abutment means serve to limit the movement of saidleading article onto said base member.

4. Device according to claim 2, in which said first clamping means formovement to and from clamping position is connected to a parallelogramlinkage means mounted on said tilting means lever.

5. Device according to claim 2, including soft yieldable cushion meanssecured to the article engaging portions of said first and secondclamping means.

6. Device according to claim 2, in which the input conveyor comprisesthe upper run of an endless conveyor belt.

7. Device according to claim 2, in which said article receiving andmoving means comprises a pusher-type conveyor mounted transversely ofsaid input conveyor.

8. Device for separating an end article from a row of articles adheringto each other, comprising an input conveyor supporting said row ofarticles and movable in the longitudinal direction of said row, a basemember adjacent to the discharge end of said input conveyor, firstclamping means for holding said leading article on said base member,second clamping means for holding the neighboring article of the row onsaid input conveyor, means for tilting said base member and firstclamping means about a transverse horizontal axis disposed approximatelyin a transverse vertical plane through the adhering surfaces of saidleading and neighboring articles to thereby separate said leadingarticle from said neighboring article, and an article receiving andmoving means adjacent to said base member and adapted to remove saidleading article from said base member upon release of said firstclamping means, said tilting means including a first lever mounted topivot about a stationary axis substantially aligned with said transversehorizontal axis, and means pivotally connecting said first lever to saidbase member and first clamping means, and said base member comprising aplurality of spaced parallel fingers, a pivotally mounted second leverbeing provided with members loosely fitting and insertable between saidfingers, and abutment means on said members in a position to extendabove said base member when said members are disposed between saidfingers, whereby said abutment means serve to limit the movement of saidleading article onto said base member.

1. Method of separating an end article from a row of articles adheringto each other, comprising the steps of moving said row of adheringarticles on an input conveyor in the longitudinal direction of said rowuntil the leading article rests upon a base member at the discharge endof said input conveyor, clamping said leading article to said basemember, clamping the neighboring article in the row to said inputconveyor, tilting said base member about a transverse horizontal axisdisposed approximately in a transverse vertical plane through theadhering surfaces of said leading and neighboring articles therebyseparating said leading article from said neighboring article, releasingsaid leading article from said base member, and transferring saidleading article onto an adjacent receiving and moving means.
 2. Devicefor separating an end article from a row of articles adhering to eachother, comprising an input conveyor supporting said row of articles andmovable in the longitudinal direction of said row, a base memberadjacent to the discharge end of said input conveyor, first clampingmeans for holding said leading article on said base member, secondclamping means for holding the neighboring article of the row on saidinput conveyor, means for tilting said base member and first clampingmeans about a transverse horizontal axis disposed approximately in atransverse vertical plane through the adhering surfaces of said leadingand neighboring articles to thereby separate said leading article fromsaid neighboring article, and an article receiving and moving meansadjacent to said base member and adapted to remove said leading articlefrom said base member upon release of said first clamping means, saidtilting means including a lever mounted to pivot about a stationary axissubstantially aligned with said transverse horizontal axis, and meanspivotally connecting said lever to said base member and first clampingmeans.
 3. Device according to claim 2, in which said base membercomprises a plurality of spaced parallel fingers, a pivotally mountedlever being provided with members loosely fitting and insertable betweensaid fingers, and abutment means on said members in a position to extendabove said base member when said members are disposed between saidfingers, whereby said abutment means serve to limit the movement of saidleading article onto said base member.
 4. Device according to claim 2,in which said first clamping means for movement to and from clampingposition is connected to a parallelogram linkage means mounted on saidtilting means lever.
 5. Device according to claim 2, including softyieldable cushion means secured to the article engaging portions of saidfirst and second clamping means.
 6. Device according to claim 2, inwhich the input conveyor comprises the upper run of an endless conveyorbelt.
 7. Device according to claim 2, in which said article receivingand moving means comprises a pusher-type conveyor mounted transverselyof said input conveyor.
 8. Device for separating an end article from arow of articles adhering to each other, comprising an input conveyorsupporting said Row of articles and movable in the longitudinaldirection of said row, a base member adjacent to the discharge end ofsaid input conveyor, first clamping means for holding said leadingarticle on said base member, second clamping means for holding theneighboring article of the row on said input conveyor, means for tiltingsaid base member and first clamping means about a transverse horizontalaxis disposed approximately in a transverse vertical plane through theadhering surfaces of said leading and neighboring articles to therebyseparate said leading article from said neighboring article, and anarticle receiving and moving means adjacent to said base member andadapted to remove said leading article from said base member uponrelease of said first clamping means, said tilting means including afirst lever mounted to pivot about a stationary axis substantiallyaligned with said transverse horizontal axis, and means pivotallyconnecting said first lever to said base member and first clampingmeans, and said base member comprising a plurality of spaced parallelfingers, a pivotally mounted second lever being provided with membersloosely fitting and insertable between said fingers, and abutment meanson said members in a position to extend above said base member when saidmembers are disposed between said fingers, whereby said abutment meansserve to limit the movement of said leading article onto said basemember.